Infinite Dream
by dvn88
Summary: After waking up from an attack by a strange creature Naruto finds himself in world were his was destroyed 1000 years ago. Now hes travelling with a summoning party to help save their world and find a way back to his own. Based on FFX
1. The Quiet Before The Storm

This story is loosely based on the game Final Fantasy X but is not a crossover fic.

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><p>He pulled the zip to his black and orange jacket up, leaving himself room to breathe with his orange shirt underneath. His black trousers looked as though someone had cut the left leg off above the knee showing a white bandage peeking out underneath while the right leg ender halfway down his thigh with a red spiral embroided on the front. His heavy boots, matching his jacket. Taking one final look in the mirror he ruffled his blonde hair, making sure it was spiky as his blue eyes scanned the three whisker marks on each cheek that made him look like an animal. Satisfied with the way he looked, he checked his pocket pulling out an old crumpled photo and taking a quick look before stuffing it back in and heading out the door.<p>

As soon as he stepped out of his small apartment he was swarmed by his fans, screaming, shouting and cheering his name. All looking for the chance to say that they'd seen the star player. Naruto looked across the crowd of people blocking his way, every single one calling his name.

"Can you sign this?" a small child sat on his father's shoulders asked holding out a blue and white ball.

"Sure thing." The blonde replied with a smile as he took a pen out of his pocket before catching the ball that was thrown to him. Quickly he signed the ball before handing it back to the kid who promptly jumped off his father's shoulders and ran off to find his friends, holding the ball high above his head and a big smile on his face.

Seeing what he'd done the crowd pushed forward holding balls, notebooks, t-shirts and anything else they could get their hands on for him to sign, which he willingly obliged.

"You going to the game?" he asked a pair of girls as he signed a ball for them.

"Of course." The tall blond replied "we never miss any of your games."

"Great" he laughed as he passed the ball back. "Well when I score a goal... I'll do this is." He held his right arm stretched out in front of himself, his hand in a fist. "That'll mean it's for you."

"Really?" the girls squealed in delight.

"Believe it. Where bouts you sitting?" he asked.

"East block third row, second on the right." The girls swooned.

"K then, I'll see you there then." Naruto winked before moving back through the crowd around him.

For the next 30 minutes Naruto spent time with his fans, signing autographs and posing for photos, until he finally looked up and saw the time on a clock tower. Looking around himself he then realised that he'd spent so much time with the people in the crowd that he'd only gotten a few feet away from his apartment.

"Wow, hey guys I need to get going." He called out as he quickly handed back the notebook he'd been signing and started to push his way through the crowd to get to the stadium but was stopped when a group of three kids blocked his way.

"hey boss, can you teach us how to play blitzball?" the small boy that was at the front of the group asked, his long blue scarf waving in the breeze as the other two kind voiced their agreement.

"Aww come on guys you're going to make me late for the big game." Naruto moaned, but grabbed his head in frustration when the children didn't move. "How about tonight after the game?" he asked.

"You can't tonight." He heard a voice call out, but as he looked out across the sea of people, all pushing and pulling against each other he couldn't tell who had called out.

"I know, how about tomorrow." He asked looking at the trio after thinking about it. While he didn't know who had spoken it made him change his mind thinking that he'd want to celebrate tonight if they won the match.

"You promise?" the girl in the group asked with a blush on her cheeks, which only increased when he said he would.

Nodding in agreement the three kids suddenly stood to attention and held their right hand in front of their faces with their middle and index finger pointing upwards and bowed their heads, moving aside.

"Are you sure he'll teach us?" the girl asked as they raised their heads just in time to see the blond rush off through the crowd and disappear.

"Of course" the boy with the scarf laughed as he put his arm around the shoulders of his two friends. "After all, he promised and he never breaks his promises."

Running down the streets of Konoha, Naruto took in the sights around him. Loud music played as people went back and forth between shops, bars and restaurants. Children where running in the streets playing games with their friends, singing and laughing. Some were kicking balls around, pretending that they were playing in the big match that would be taking place later that night. Coming out of the high street Naruto entered Konoha's great park, filled with hundreds of trees and flowers. Following the winding path through the trees, more children were playing while squirrels scurried around. Seeing one squirrel looking at him, Naruto stopped and looked back. The animal tilted its head at the blond, trying to understand the strange person he it was seeing. Not knowing why Naruto did the same as the squirrel was joined by a second and moved closes to have a better look only to step on a twig, startling the animals which ran back to the safety of their tree. Laughing to himself he carried on along his was enjoying the sights around him. Eventually he came to a clearing with a large stage and screen set up with hundreds of people gathered before it as someone with a microphone stepped onto the stage.

"I was just a kid who'd run away from home when I heard the news. Minato, the greatest blitzball player there ever was, was missing. Well I just ran straight back home and back to my dad. He must have been the biggest Minato fan there was, we must have spent the whole night just talking about him. It's the closest I think I ever was to him." The announcer said with a far off look in his eyes the longer he spoke till someone called his name offstage as the crowd got restless. "Oh sorry about that everyone, got a little nostalgic there didn't I." He laughed. "Well that was over ten years ago and now we're here today for the ninth annual Minato memorial cup. The finalists in today's match are the Leaf Blades and the Konoha Spirals along with their star player and Minato's own son Naruto." As soon as his name was mention the park was filled with a roar of cheers. "Will we see his father's legendary shot?" the host said as he started bouncing up and down caught in the crowds enthusiasm as they got rowdier and rowdier. "The kid looks like his father, plays like his father and I'm sure he's just like his father outside the sphere as well."

The announcer carried on speaking but Naruto didn't hear any of it and carried on his way, losing interest in what was being said as soon as the fact that he was related to Minato was mentioned. To the people of Konoha Minato may have been a hero but to him he was just a man who'd left his family behind, but he had plenty of time to think about that later so he tried to pushed it to the back off his mind. He was so lost in his thoughts though that he didn't see the large man that he bumped into the back of.

"Oh, erm, sorry." Naruto apologised looked up at the towering man, who turned to face him with a scowl on his face and fist drawn back

"Yea I'll make sure you're sorry." The man said as his eyes burning through Naruto, but before anything happened they suddenly softened when he realised who'd bumped into him.

"Oh no I'm sorry." He laughed. "Oi everyone look, its Naruto." He called out waving to a group of people at the side of the road who quickly ran over. The small group however quickly began to grow larger and larger till the whole courtyard outside the stadium was filled with people. People who'd come to see the biggest game of the season, to remember the great Minato and to see his son play. With a smile on his face Naruto slowly began pushing his way through the sea of people that surrounded him, before finally making his way to the entrance of the stadium which had two giant statues flanking each side of the doorway. As he reached the top of the ramp way he took one last look behind him at the cheering fans being held back by the security and the clear blue night sky above them. It was strange but he couldn't help feeling that after the game, nothing was ever going to be the same again. The smile on his face faulted slightly as he waved to the crowd before turning back around and making his way into the locker room.

The stadium, filled beyond capacity with people standing in the aisles and sitting on the roofs were ecstatic as Naruto scored the first goal. He turned to face the crowd in the east stand and held his fist up, a move that caused two girls sitting there to scream louder. Smiling to himself he then turned back and quickly rejoined the game that had already restarted. The crowd roared with cheers as the two teams fought for possession of the ball inside the sphere of water that seemed to float before them, above the ground, almost like magic. Inside the sphere the ten men swam around frantically in attempts to catch the ball that was continuously being traded between the two teams. At one point a member of the Leaf Blades was tackled so hard by two members of the swirls that he bust out the side of the sphere and flew across the stadium, finally landing on top of some fans sitting in the fourth row. The swirl players looked at the damage they'd caused and high fived each other before swimming off as the sphere repaired itself, closing the gap and stopping the water that'd been leaking out.

As the match played on, a lone figure stood atop of a building not far away from the stadium looking over the city. His tall spiky white hair defied gravity as the bottom of his red haori blew in the breeze with a thick black belt holding it closed round his waist that matched his trousers. A black mask covered his mouth and his left eye was also covered with an eye patch, a thin scar running from underneath it and down his cheek. His lone black eye looked over the city lit up by the lights and giant monitors that were showing the blitzball game, as the sound of music rose up from the streets below filled with people sing and drinking. At one side of the city, the land met the sea, illuminated by the ships that were in port, setting of fireworks into the clear night sky. The then looked in the opposite direction from the sea across to the other side of the city where towering above even the largest building stood the Kage Mountains, where the faces of Konoha's greatest people had been carved into it. Many were previous leaders or those who held a position of power. And yet the most prominent among them was the face of Minato, smiling across the city he loved. Holding up a canteen the man made a silent toast to Minato before lowering his mask and taking a long drink as a large shadow loomed over the mountains.

Back down in the stadium the match was reaching its climax. With only a minute left on the clock the score was tied at one goal each. Both teams fought furiously for the ball getting rougher and rougher as the seconds ticked away, each man hoping to score the winning goal. In the far end of the sphere Naruto fought desperately to get back into the game as two Leaf Blades kept blocking his way, preventing the Swirls star player from helping his team. Suddenly the Swirls defence was broken, and a Leaf Blade made a dash for the goal. Twenty feet from the goal the player quickly kicked the ball, causing it to sail past a swirl trying to intercept the ball and straight at the goalkeeper. Diving quickly the keeper leapt across the goal, catching the ball with the tips of his fingers and deflected it back across the sphere. As the ball floated through the water a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared around it and when it disappeared Naruto held the ball in his hand. The two players that had been blocking Naruto looked between the two identical people, and letting their guard down the first Naruto broke past them and swam to the top of the sphere. Meanwhile the second Naruto kicked the ball to the centre of the sphere just as he was tackled, but rather than tumble through the water, disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving his opponent looking around confused. As the ball reached the spheres centre another Naruto appeared in a puff of smoke, kicking it upwards before disappearing the same way it came. The ball flew through the water breaking the surface at the top of the sphere just as the last remaining Naruto reached the top himself. The whole crowd was suddenly up on their feet and cheering as the blonde left the water, and prepared to take the final shot of the game as the final few seconds on the clock counted down.

But before he could shoot though, something caught his attention. Looking over the stadium roof and across the city his eyes widened in surprise and shock as he saw a large creature towering over the city suddenly fire several blasts of energy which flew across the skyline before impacting several buildings causing massive explosions. One blast flew past Naruto hitting the stadium stand behind him causing rubble to fly from the explosion and the sphere of water below him to disperse and fall like a heavy rain to the ground along with him. Panicking as he started to fall be quickly grabbed a hold of a beam sticking out the side of the stadium desperately trying to hold on for his life. But as another blast hit the stadium causing it to shake, he lost his grip and plummeted to the floor screaming in terror.

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><p>A.N. spellings corrected.<p> 


	2. The End Of The World

Naruto slowly came round, his head spinning as drops of water hit his cheek. As he opened his eyes all he could see was blurs rushing past him, and muffled sounds that seemed to echo from all directions. He slowly got to his feet, before closing his eyes and slapping his cold, wet hands across his face before opening his eyes again and seeing the world around him clearer.

The blurs and muffled noises were people running and screaming around him in panic and terror as the stadium that he'd been playing in moments before fell all around them. He looked up, trying to find the spot that he'd fallen from only to find the roof he'd been clinging onto no longer existed. Feeling thankful that he'd landed in a pool of water that had cushioned his landing, rather than the cold hard floor; he started walking, following the crowds of people out of the stadium.

He followed the crowds past fallen walls and smashed shop fronts, being knocked about as people bumped into him, caring only about their own safety. Suddenly something caught his attention. A small child huddled up at the side of the path beneath a broken window, covered in glass. Worried that they were hurt, he made his way over and shook the person.

"Hey you ok kid?"

No reply.

"Hey kid you..." he continued but stopped as he rolled the child over. It was the young girl who earlier that day had begged him with her friends to teach them how to play blitzball. The constant blush that usually adorned her face was instead replaced by several deep cuts from the broken glass.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He panicked. "Someone, please help." He called out, yet while he tried to resuscitate the child nobody came to help, too concerned about themselves to help others. After several minutes of trying unsuccessfully to revive the girl he reluctantly gave up. Upset that he couldn't do anymore, his hands stained in her blood he looked around himself, and realised that the girl wasn't the only one who'd been hurt as all around him lay bodies across the ground. And while a few people had gathered around the bodies, those who weren't fleeing in fear were instead looting the stadiums shops and stalls.

"At times like these, the true nature of a person is shown." A calm voice from behind the blonde spoke. Turning around he found the owner of the voice, a man dressed in red with while hair.

"Kakashi." Naruto called out as the man approached.

"Yo." He simply replied, raising this hand to wave at the boy.

"Kakashi we have to do something, we have to help these people." The blonde said and started to make his way to check on another body, but was stopped when a hand grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to look into Kakashi's single eye.

"There's nothing we can do for them, they're already dead." He said, his voice showing no emotion, just like his face as the stadium shook. "We're better off leaving here before any more of this place falls on top of us." He then turned and slowly walked towards the entrance leaving Naruto by himself once more. He looked down at the motionless body of the girl on the floor and silently said a pray. When he finished, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around and chasing Kakashi, calling out for him to wait.

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><p>Naruto ran between the statues at the entrance way of the stadium as people rushed around in the mayhem.<p>

"Kakashi, Kakashi." He called out trying to find the red clad man unsuccessfully in the sea of people, their cries of panic drowning out his voice. "Kakashi where'd you go?" he called out again when he was knocked down to the floor by someone from behind. Picking himself up, he expected to see the back of the person who'd pushed him down, running away. Instead what he saw was every person around him all stood still silently He crept around the man next to him, looking at him stuck in mid step as though frozen in time, showing no reaction as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"It begins." A single voice called out, over the silence, causing Naruto to spin on his heels to come face to face with a boy who hadn't been there moments before.

"What?" the confused blonde asked the boy dressed in a pale green jacket with a blue scarf wrapped round his neck that looked somewhat familiar. Instead of replying though the boy turned around and walked away from him. Sure the child had something to do with the strange events that were happening he quickly tried to put his foot on the end of the scarf that trailed along the floor to stop him leaving, only to pass straight through it.

"What's going on? What are you?"

"Don't cry." The child spoke on last time before a white flash of light blinded Naruto and when his vision had cleared people were running and screaming all around him again as though nothing had ever happened. He looked around even more confused than he was before trying to understand what had just happened. Had he been seeing things, an affect of banging his head after his fall, maybe he was concussed. But before he could contemplate those possibilities, he saw the top of Kakashi's head poking out the crowd and he quickly chased after him.

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><p>Catching up with the one eyed man they walked silently together through the crowds as the sounds of explosions echoed all around them, Naruto deciding not wanting to mention what had just happened knowing just how ridiculous it would sound. They passed through the streets, past fallen buildings, and through broken glass and prone bodies that lay on the ground for several minutes before they finally spoke.<p>

"Kakashi what's happening?" Naruto asked before dodging out of the way of falling rubble. "Where are we going?"

"There." Kakashi simply said pointing ahead of them and what Naruto saw terrified him. There stood towering above the tallest buildings in the city stood a gargantuan black creature stood on four legs, with ten long tails swaying in the night sky. Its huge single red eye watching over the city and the destruction it was causing.

"What, what the hell is that thing?"

"We called it Jubi of Sin." Kakashi said unfazed as another blast caused the ground to shake.

"Jubi of Sin?" Naruto repeated as he looked up from behind his arms protecting his face from the blast only to see Kakashi continue on his way. "Hey come on wait up." He called out before chasing after the man again.

Finally they started to make their way to the great bridge that crossed the river that split the city in half. As they made their way across Naruto looked over the side to the ground below, seeing smoke rise from the rubble of the fallen buildings that he use to go to while people in the streets scurrying around like insects trying to find somewhere safe. And along the riverside, one of the few tall buildings that remained standing had a monitor covering its side showing the image of Minato smiling, while music played that was much better suited to the party atmosphere from earlier in the day then the carnage that was now taking place.

'What are you laughing at?' Naruto thought to himself as he was the image of his father flicker on the screen; to him it almost looked like he was enjoying the destruction. "Why are we heading this way?" He called to Kakashi who was also looking at the image of his father as a small group of people ran past them in the opposite direction.

"We're expected." He replied never looking back at the young man.

"Expected? What you mean expected?" He asked but never got an answer as an explosion rocked the bridge, and the road that had once been clear was suddenly filled with strange creatures. Each creature had a long dark body with four legs, pincers and a set of wings that seemed to flicker a light blue.

"What are these things, giant cockroaches?" He asked with concern, taking a few steps back as he was slowly advanced on. As they drew closer he threw a punch that caused them to back off, then feeling more confident he kicked the next one that attacked, catching it in its head and sending it to the side of the road. But as soon as it hit the ground another took its place, lunging at him and causing him to fall on his backside to evade.

"Here." Kakashi called out tossing a small pouch to him before catching one of the charging creatures by its pincers and throwing it off the side of the bridge, down to the river bellow. Opening the pouch Naruto found it filled with several three pronged knifes. "Hey aren't..."

"Those kunai are a gift from Minato." Kakashi interrupted as he produced his own single blade and slashed through the body of another creature.

"My old man?" He questioned as he looked at one of the blades, turning it in his hand. He remembered his mother talking about how his father use to train using these weapons saying it helped him to improve his blitzball skills. He had one of the kunai at home himself, resting on the mantelpiece but he thought that was the last of its kind, any yet now suddenly he was holding eight of them. Jumping back up onto his feet he tied the pouch to his belt and held the blade in a reverse hold and prepared for the next attack. A group of creatures looked at him holding the knife as the lights of the city shone off it, as if trying to understand what it was he now held before one finally decided to rush him. As it jumped at him he quickly brought his fist down on the creature like a hammer, the blade piercing it in the head between its eyes causing it to cry out in pain before it collapsed and stopped moving. He pulled the blade free and met the remaining of the group head on, weaving and dodging their attacks and striking out with his own.

"Not bad." Kakashi said as he left a pile of dead creatures he'd made at the side of the road, as he made his way towards the blonde who killed the last of his creatures by chopping off its head. "I told you all that blitzball practice would help you if you ever got into a fight."

"Yea but this isn't the kind of fight you were talking about though was it." Naruto jokingly said between panted breaths hoping to see some sort of reaction on Kakashi's face, which he got when the man seemed to smile back to him with his one eye before he suddenly pushed him out the way as another creature leapt at them from behind.

"Now what? More?" he shouted for the whole of Konaha to hear as he realised they were now surrounded on both sides of the bridge by the creatures, flapping their wings as though excited at the prospect of killing the two of them.

"This could be a problem." Kakashi mumbled from under his mask as he and Naruto stood back to back, preparing to strike as they moved in closer. As the two fought off their enemies they kept a look out for any chance they could get to escape but every time one creature fell another would take its place, filling the gap created before they had a chance to flee.

Suddenly one got through Naruto's guard, cutting his arm with one of its pincers before he was able to kick it away. Holding his arm and grimacing in pain he turned to Kakashi. "This isn't working we're going to get killed."

"Agreed." He replied as he put his hand in his pocket and retrieved a tag which he wrapped round the handle of his kunai. "When I say run, run got it?" And before Naruto could ask what he was going to do he threw the kunai off the side of the bridge and into the building close by. As soon as it hit the side of the building the blade suddenly exploded causing it to shake before it started to tip towards the bridge. So surprised by what was happening he never saw Kakashi throw a second blade, causing another explosion cleared the bridge in the direction they were heading, or him yelling to run as he took off as fast as he could. He just stood there as the building with the image of his father on it started to fall on top of him before finally realising he was about to die if he didn't more and took off running.

He moved just in time as it fell on the bridge, the impact causing it to buckle under his feet as he ran. Faster and faster he tried to go, trying to keep ahead of the falling bridge before the section he was stood on collapsed forcing him to jump. He sailed across the bridge as it fell beneath him, wind milling his arms trying to get to the others end of the bridge which was now the only part that was still standing. Finally he reached the other side, clinging onto the edge for his life and slowly dragged himself back up. He managed to drag his chest up onto the side and for a moment just laid there, frantically trying to get his breath back. But when the bridge shook again, the edge he was resting on crumpled away beneath him, forcing him to hold on for his life with his hands once again. Trying to pull himself up again he slipped and was left hanging by one hand as someone stood above him.

Finally losing his grip Naruto would have fallen had a hand not reached out and caught him by his collar. Lifting him up so they could see eye to eye Naruto was relieved to see it was Kakashi, but rather then placing him back down on what remained of the bridge he was held up instead. And before he could question what was going on he looked up realising that the Jubi of Sin was suddenly standing above then, almost as though looking down on them.

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked but when Naruto looked at him he realised he wasn't actually talking to him but rather the creature above them which seemed to nod its head in approval before opening its mouth as a jet black sphere started to form in it.

"This is it."

Naruto looked back down at the man who held him dangling over the edge, the noise of the Jubi tried to drown out the sound of his voice as the sphere that had been building up in its mouth was realeased and descended upon them.

"This... is your story. It all begins here." Was all he heard before everything went black.

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><p>A.N.<p>

Thanks to God of wind4 for pointing out previous spelling errors.


	3. Where Am I

**Al Bhed language**

_Dream_

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><p>The rain fell down, splashing against his face, determined to wake him up. But as it fell all he did was lay on the ground, his feet dangling in the water that surrounded him. Finally, as the sound of thunder roared in the heavens, he opened his eyes. Sitting up he looked around and found he'd been laying on a small stone platform, barely above the water that surrounded him with submerged, broken ruins, the only scenery he had. Dragging himself to his feet he stood up, hoping to get a better look as a flash of lightning lit up the night sky.<p>

"Where am I?" he asked himself aloud, as though expecting someone to answer him. He tried to remember what had happened. He remembered the loud music, cheering fans and intense blitzball game. But as he thought more about it he then remembered the strange creature that had attacked his home. Thinking harder the last thing he remembered was looking up at that strange creature as it attacked both him and Kakashi. Kakashi he suddenly thought as he realised that he was all alone and the spiky haired main was nowhere to be seen.

"Kakashi." He called out across the water to no reply. "Hello." He called out again hoping anyone would hear him, but again there was no reply. "Hey" he called out again this time hurting his throat, and this time he got a reply in the form of a crow that settled on the rocks beside him.

"Just the two of us then." He chuckled to himself as the crow just stared blankly at him before it flew off again into the horizon, startled by another flash of lightning.

Checking himself over, he found that despite his fall in the stadium, his fights with the strange creatures and whatever else had happened that brought him to this strange land of sunken ruins he only had a few scratches and bruised. The only exception was the cut to his left arm from the fight. Seeing that it wasn't bleeding anymore he untied the bandage he had on his left leg and wrapped it tightly round the wound. He'd suffered several injuries over the course of his blitzball career and wasn't too concerned about it; he'd just get a doctor to stitch him up. If he could find a doctor.

With another crack of lightning he deciding it was best to get out of the storm that was starting to rage on overhead he dived back into the water, swimming between the ruins that stood out like islands in the sea, looking for any form of shelter. As he swam about he looked below himself seeing a great courtyard beneath, were several large statues stood submerged and at the edge he found some large stone steps that climbed up out of the water, leading to the only building in the area that was still standing. The walls were overgrown with plants and in a state of disrepair, the years of abuse from the weather having taken its toll. Putting all his weight into it, he slowly forced the heavy, creaky door open, and as soon was the gap was big enough he quickly scurried inside pushing the door back close.

Finally as the door closed, he slid down against it, resting against the cold hard stone drawing in deep breathes. As he sat there he looked at his surroundings to found himself inside a long hallway. Standing up again he took a slow walk to the far end looking at all the items on the walls. The hallway was filled with paintings and shrivelled up dead flowers. Some paintings were still hanging on the walls, but many of them had fallen, littering the floor. Some were ruined by the rain that had leaked through the cracks while others were covered by dust. Curious as to what the paintings were he wiped one clean only to find it had faded way, time taking its toll and making it impossible to tell what it once was.

When he got to the end he forced the door open, finding himself inside a large chamber. All along the outside were old and broken furniture and the remains of several statues that had collapsed and lay in pieces on the ground or against the walls. Looking up he saw a balcony, running around the outer edge above him, stone gargoyles looking down on him as water that had somehow made its way inside, flowing off one ledge looking almost like a waterfall. And in the centre of the room lay the remains of an old burnt out fire pit, covered in dust from the lack of use it had seen over the years. Realising just how colds he was Naruto quickly set about starting a new fire to warm himself up and dry his still wet clothes.

Going to one side of the room he grabbed one of the chairs lying on the floor, picked it up and swung it against the ground breaking it into pieces. Collecting the pieces he threw them into the fire pit before taking a piece and rolling it between his hands against another, hoping the friction would start the fire. Ten minutes later though he finally gave up, the only thing he'd succeeded in doing was rubbing the palms of his hands raw. As his stomach rumbled in hunger he set off again trying to find something to start a fire as well as anything he could eat, but after going round the whole chamber found nothing

Determined not to give up he found a door blocked with rubble, fallen from the ceiling and started digging to get through. When it was almost clear though he quickly had to jump back, the door collapsing and falling over, having been supported by the rubble. Carefully stepping through the broken stone he entered the room finding the floor covered in water, flowing through cracks and open window in the far wall, the torn curtains blowing in the wind. Looking out the window with the rain splashing against his face, the night sky had gotten darker making the whole area pitch black, and when the lightning did light up the sky all Naruto could still see was the endless sea. Remembering he had more important things to do, he continuing his search. He dug through the shelves containing old books and scrolls and checked the floor covered in rubble without success. After finally giving up his search the blonde was about to make his way out suddenly noticed something. Hidden under the collapsed door were the remains of a desk, its legs having given way with the weight that had fallen on top of it. Pulling the desks draw open that was poking out he dug through it finding more papers and writing equipment before finding, hidden in the back corner of the draw a set of flint stones.

Grabbing them with a sense of joy, he quickly ran back into the main chamber, banging the stones together finally getting a spark and starting his small fire. Tired and exhausted he collapsed in front of the fire, letting it warm him as the flames danced around illumination the area as the sounds of the storm outside raged on. His stomach grumbled again trying reminding him that he was still hungry but by now he didn't care as he thought more about his situation.

Where exactly was he? How did he get there? And the more he thought about it, the more he wished that there was someone, anyone to be beside him. So he didn't have to be alone anymore.

Then exhaustion finally got the better of him as he passed out.

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><p>"<em>What do you want?" Naruto asked as Kakashi walked into his apartment without knocking.<em>

_The man just stood there, looking at the teen that was slouched in his chair for a few minutes before he spoke._

"_It was a bad call. Your team lost because of you."_

"_You came to say that?" Naruto shouted, jumping out of his seat. It was bad enough that he knew it was his fault that his team had lost, but the last thing he wanted was someone else telling him. Did they want him to feel worse about it?_

_The man didn't seem to care though as he went into the kitchen to make himself a drink before returning and sitting down on the sofa, while the blonde who was still annoyed finally sat back down. Kakashi took a long slow drink before he said anything again. "It's been... ten years."_

_Naruto looked back at the man in shock. No one had spoken about it to him all day and remembering it was painful._

"_I thought you'd be crying." He continued after taking another sip, and then tried to find a space on the table, filled with empty ramen cuts to put his tea._

"_Who, me? Crying for little kids." He dismissed the one eyed man and turned to look away from him, hoping the conversation would be dropped._

"_You cried." A third voice quietly said causing Naruto to quickly look around for the person who'd spoken._

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><p>Naruto woke up with a yawn, and tried to remember the strange dream he'd had. But the more he thought about it, the harder it became for him to remember before he finally gave up. Shivering on the cold, hard floor he tucked his knees into his chest and huddled himself. 'Why's it so cold?' he asked himself as he looked around the chamber, his breath condensing in the cold air. He quickly found the reason why. The fire that had been keeping him warm before he fell asleep had died out, with the embers providing only a dim glow in the dark room. Quickly jumping to his feet he ran off to get more fuel to keep the fire going, but as he came back into the room with his arms filled with old books a roar echoed through the building. At first he didn't think anything of it as he started feeding the fire, believing the noise to just be from the storm outside. But when he heard the noise again Naruto thought he saw movement above him. As he scanned the balconies above him he saw a shadow move along with the sound of heavy footsteps.<p>

Suddenly with a roar a creature leapt out of the shadows and off the balcony, landing on the ground with such force that Naruto fell to his knees. As he looked back up he was greeted with the sight of a large humanoid creature with gray skin and its arms and legs covered in brown hair. The creature looked at the small person in front of it, before stepping towards him, its large muscular legs stomping heavily on the floor. Scurrying to his feet Naruto leapt out the way as the creature brought its huge fist down where he once stood, leaving nothing but a dent. Reaching into his back pouch he grabbed a kunai and quickly looked for an escape route. With the way he had come in the only way out he knew, he slowly circled around the room, hoping he could slip past the creature and out the door without having to fight it. When he got near to the door though, the creature suddenly charged straight at him. Leaping out the way again it ran straight into one of the tall columns around the room. With the support column gone the balcony above began to crumble before it fell, crashing down on top of the creature.

Slowly Naruto moved towards the rubble, ready to react should the beast have survived under the crushing weight. Once close enough he kicked at its arm sticking out the rubble, before jumping back expecting it to lash out. But it didn't. Breathing a sigh of relief he relaxed his guard, and started to clear the rubble away from the door. But as he started to clear some of the smaller rocks away he heard a growl and before he could react the once lifeless arm shot up, grabbing a hold of him round his neck. As he struggled to breathe the creature slowly rose to its feet from beneath the rubble and held Naruto before him, as if looking him in the eye. It snarled at the blonde as its black blood flowed from a cut on its head and its grip tightened, determined to crush him. Kicking his legs as he was deprived of oxygen Naruto managed to find his kunai again and plunged it into the orge's hand repeatedly. With a roar it reared back, throwing Naruto across the chamber where he handed hard on his back on top of a table which broke on impact. Dragging himself back to his feet, he tried to regain his breath but was quickly forced dodged the charging creature again while lashing out with his blade, catching it in the back of its leg. Hobbling this time it charged again, but this time much slower than before and easier for the blonde to dodge, so as it ran by she struck again at its back. Flinching in pain it swung it's arm back, sending Naruto tumbling away. The orge then started swinging its fists furiously, intent on crushing the blonde, who was left with no other choice but to dodge its fists that pounded the ground. Finally creating distance between the two Naruto crossed his middle and pointer fingers in front of him in a cross.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu." He called out and suddenly three more copies of himself appeared alongside him in a puff of smoke. "Lets get him." The original yelled out as the other three cheered in agreement, before surrounding the monster that was suddenly confused by its multiplying opponent. Stuck in the middle the monster would strike at one Naruto who would dodge it while the others would attack while its back was turned, slowly wearing it down.

As the creature slowed down the Naruto's regrouped together ready to finish it off when a loud explosion echoed through the halls and causing loose debris to fall from the ceiling. The four blondes looked around in panic, trying to figure out what was happening. The creature however showed no concern and took advantage of the distracted blonde, swinging its giant fist, hitting one in the head which promptly disappeared in wisps of smoke. Surprised by the sudden decrease in their numbers one of the Naruto's charged forward, jumping into the air with its weapon raised intent on bringing it down between the creature's eyes. Another explosion stopped that though as the door to the exit was blown off its hinges and flew across the room hitting the monster and Naruto clone, who disappeared like the first. As the monster let out a roar of anger, picking itself up from under the door, the real Naruto looked back at the doorway as four people quickly entered the room. Each one was dresses in either dirty, stained overalls or thick heavy leather clothes, with every single one of them wearing goggles over their eyes.

"Great timing. You here to help?" The twin blondes asked the group, but the only reply he got was four guns pointed towards him.

"Fiends." One called out aiming his rifle between the two Naruto's and the monster. "**Druca dfu yna teckiecat yc risyhc**."

"**Gemm dra csymm uhac vencd; drah fa lyh dyga dra pek uha."** Another call out in a foreign language Naruto didn't understand as he aimed at his head and fired. The Naruto's dived for cover, the bullet missing them both, instead hitting the orge in the shoulder. The relief he felt from surviving the attack quickly vanished though as the gun barrel was then pointed at his head again.

"**Fyed."** A high voice called out as someone ran past the group, and knocked the gun upwards just as another shot was fired, causing the bullet to impact into the ceiling. **"Fryd ev ed ec risyh?"**

The man didn't seem impressed as the stranger, dressed in a red and tan coloured wetsuit stepped forwards, standing beside Naruto and assumed a battle stance.

"You're helping? Great." He cheered at the thought of the support he was being given, but he panicked when the stranger with his dark brown hair tied in a ponytail charged forwards straight at the monster. But rather than being swatted aside he leapt over the creature, catching it in the back of the head with a swift kick. As it stumbled forward he turned on his heels and despite wearing the tight suit quickly engaged it again hitting it with fast, rapid punches. As the monster crossed its giant arms in front of its body to deflect some of the blows the two Naruto's jumped in, weaving in and out with the stranger as they fought back, attacking from three sides.

Finally it stumbled and Naruto saw the opening he'd been waiting for. Ducking under a wild punch he jumped up, landing an uppercut square on its jaw and as it stepped back to steady itself the second Naruto leapt in, driving both feet into its chest making it fall onto its back. The two Naruto's drew their weapons, a kunai in each hand and advanced to deliver the finishing blow, but as the clone stood over the creature ready to land the killing blow, the stranger who'd been helping them vaulted over its shoulders and landed on the creature. Straddling its waist he reared back before hitting the creature in the chest with open palm strikes rather than fists causing it to call out with a strained cry as its body went limp, its eyes rolling into the back of its head.

Getting off it he walked away back to the group he'd come with as the kage bunshin disappeared, leaving the real Naruto looking on in wonder as the motionless creature that had attacked him started to disappear, fading away from existence, with small fireflies floating away from its body.

"What just happened?" He asked, hoping someone could answer what had just happened to the monster, its body having disappeared as though it had never existed. Instead the barrel of a gun was pressed against his temple. "Ok... maybe I should say thanks first?"

"**Fa cruimt gemm res."** The man holding the gun said, and even though he didn't understand the words that had been spoken Naruto closed his eyes, knowing the end was about to come.

"**Hu ,ra luimt pa uv ica du ic."**

He felt the pressure of the gun leave his head and he opened an eye to see the man back off, his combat partner standing before him instead.

"Erm thanks." He chuckled nervously as they stood face to face. The stranger reached up to their face and pulled the goggles down around their neck, revealing a pair of white pupil less eyes.

"You'r a girl?" he spluttered in surprise. How could he have mistaken her for a guy he thought, especially with the way she moved so gracefully during the fight? He then mentally hit himself realising he'd voiced his surprise and hoped that she couldn't understand him, just like he couldn't understand them.

Suddenly she moved closed, draping his arm round the blondes shoulder as though about to hug him.

"**Eteud."** She whispered into his ear, before forcefully driving her palm into his gut. Taken by surprise Naruto fell to his knees the wind knocked out of him. Looking forward with his eyes watering and vision blurred he saw something move away from him as two more blur approached him as he heard a yell.

Then all he saw was black as he was hit in the back of the head.

* * *

><p>AN<p>

Well that's chapter 3 sorry it took so long. I have chapter 4 in rough in I hope to get it up by the end of next month. For those unfamiliar with the language written in **bold **I've used Al Bhed language from the game. I decided to that using an actual language that you couldn't understand would give the story a better feel when looking at the situation from Naruto's point of view. I don't intend to use the language often but if too many people have a problem with it I could always change it in later chapters. In the meantime for those who what to know what's being said just copy the link in my profile or search Al Bhed translator in google.

Reading the reviews I'm happy to see that people are getting into the story and even trying to guess who I'm casting in which roles, and while some characters would fit perfectly some choices might surprise you as I put my own spin on the story of FFX.


	4. Salvaging The Past

**Hyuga language**

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><p>Opening his eyes he found himself lying on the cold hard ground once again with a light shining in his face. Mumbling that it wasn't something he planned to make a habit out of, he slowly sat up and shielded his eyes with his hand hoping to see better. What he saw was the back of four men facing away from him, each one holding a gun at the ready as if on guard duty. Trying to get to his feet, he reached out to the closest one to try and pull himself up only for him to fall straight forward landing on his face where the man once stood. Cringing in pain as he picked himself up, he looked around again and suddenly felt like a fool when he realised the man he tried to grab was a result of his double vision and there was only really two men.<p>

"**Ced." **One of them yelled seeing the teen struggle to his feet again, before kicking him in the chest and sending him tumbling across the ground till his back hit something.

"Hey, that hurts." He whined and was ready to stand back on his feet and confront the man when the second guard turned on his heels, his gun aimed at his head.

"**Hu sujehk, kud ed?" **

"Whoa... okay." He replied holding his hands up in surrender. While he had no idea what it was they were saying it was one message he could interpret. If he moved they would shoot him.

Finally after a few seconds the two men finally turned away from him and he let out a sigh of relief. Looking around he found it was a barrio that his back had hit which had stopped him falling off the side. Peering over the edge he finally realised he was on a ship with the water below, the waves lapping its side, while the anchor was slowly lowered to hold it in place. The deck was covered with barrels and crates with a crane sat idly at the stern, while spotlights on top the bridge pierced the darkness, aimed towards the water.

Suddenly the sound of a motor caught his attention and he looked back towards the bridge to see a hatch open and the girl that he'd met earlier stepped out behind another man and made their way towards him. Stopping in front of him the man threw something at Naruto who caught it with one hand before looking at what it was. A pair of swimming goggles.

"**Ku yht ramb fedr dra cymjyka yht oui lyh cdyo."** The man said pointing to the water before moving his arms about as though he was swimming.

"What?" Naruto looked back at him confused. "I don't understand what you're saying." What was it he was saying? Did he want him to go for a swim? The only reply he got though was a smack to the back of the head from one of the guards while the other pointed his gun at his chest ready to shoot him for his insolence.

"**Fyed!" **the girl called out before anything more could happen and moved forwards so that they were standing face to face, causing Naruto to worry. The last time she stood this close to him, she'd hit him. Hard.

"He says you can stay if you work for us."

"You... You understand me?" the blonde asked surprised to hear her speak words that he actually understood, but before he could say anything else he was hit in the back of the head once again.

"All right all right, I'll work." He pleaded, hoping they wouldn't hit him again as he rubbed the sore spot on his head before putting the goggles on.

"We found some ancient ruins right beneath us. That where we're heading, got it?" the girl explained as she put her own goggles on, adjusting them till they sat comfortably on her face.

"Roger" the blonde chuckled uncomfortable as he looking around at the people around him, all of them waiting for him to get to work or the opportunity to shoot him. Hoping it would be the first option he took a deep breath and cleared his mind before he took off running towards the ships railing, vaulting over it and corkscrewing in mid-air before diving into the water below. A few moments later the girl followed him in.

"It's not active right now but there's a huge power generator down there." The girl explained as she swam up to the blonde, as their bodies got used to the cold temperature of the sea. "We're going to go and turn it on, that way we should then be able to salvage the big prize. Ok?"

"Got it." Naruto nodded before diving under the water following his diving partner.

Following a cable which ran from the ship, the pair swam deeper into the abyss while Naruto looked around, trying to see where he was going. But as they dived deeper and deeper all he was able to see was the shadows of the few small fish that swam around him, giving the place an eerie feeling. Feeling something brush up against him he stopped his decent and spun around, searching the water for what had touched him, only to be met with darkness. Believing it to of just been a small fish he carried on, following the girl who'd continued on ahead of him.

Suddenly the search lights from the ship above moved across the water, cutting through the darkness. As the light crossed Naruto's path he stopped to look around and panicked as he came face to face with a fish larger than himself. Panicking, he clawed at the water, trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible while the fish turned tail itself and swam away, startled by the strange creature it saw. When he felt he'd put enough distance between himself and the giant fish he stopped and looked around thankful to only see a few small fish swimming around him. Off in the distance he saw the girl carry on swimming, undaunted by the sights around her as the searchlight continues on its way before stopping on an old submerged building. Naruto had seem the other sunken ruins from earlier but they were just broken walls and statues, how was it possible for such a huge building to be at the bottom of the sea.

Noticing the girl swim through an opening at the side of the building and he swam quickly to catch her up. Making his way through the opening he found himself inside a room with computer consoles all around the sides, while in the centre stood a large machine. The girl swam to one of the computers and started pressing different buttons trying to get it to start, with no success before moving onto the next computer. As she tinkered away at the computers, Naruto swam to the other side of the room and started looking for a way to switch the computer he was at on. When he couldn't find a power switch he started pressing random buttons, hoping for something to happen, before finally getting frustrated with his lack of success and started to pound his fists against the console instead. As he continued to slam his fists down on the hard metal he finally caught the power button, turning it on and causing all the computers in the room to turn on and light up. Before he had a chance to celebrate his success he was suddenly pushed aside by the girl who was unphased by the sudden flashing lights that appeared and took his place at the console before starting to type away. After a few minutes several lights started to turn green before the large machine that had been sat idly in the middle of the room roared to life causing the whole place to vibrate.

Naruto looked around the once dark room now illuminated with all the small flashing lights, the sight reminding him of an arcade he use to play at when he was younger, before he turned around and headed back outside which now seemed much brighter than it did earlier. Pocking his head out the hole he watched as the lights that lined the side of the building he was in turn on one by one lighting the surrounding area up, the small fish scattering in their wake. What was once dark, murky water where you could only see a few feet ahead was now brightly lit up as the lights continued to switch on till Naruto found himself floating above a whole city, carved out of the sides of the chasm they'd been swimming down. He looked around in awe as he followed the girl deeper and deeper into the depths of the sea as they continued past more buildings of different shapes and sizes that surrounded them. The sheer size of the place had caught him by surprise and caused him to wonder, had all this been built underwater or had the place been sunk like the ruins he'd found earlier.

Eventually they reached the bottom of the sea and were joined by other members of the crew who'd swam down after the lights had been switch on who immediately got to work securing the large cables they'd brought down with them to the ocean floor. Trying to understand what they were doing he swam to where one of the cables had been connected to have a closer look. Tapping the surface he was surprised to hear the sound of metal echo through the water as he then started to wipe the surrounding mud and dirt away revealing a faded pattern underneath. This Naruto thought must have been the big prize that had been mentioned. Suddenly the ground shook causing him to start swimming for the surface, worried that there was an earthquake, but as he was making his way up someone grabbed him by the arm. Panicked he spun around to defend himself only to see the face of the girl as she held him, pulling him alone with her away from the sea bed as the cables became tight and slowly started to pull the salvage up through the water. The pair floated side by side in the water watching it slowly get raised before the pale eyed girl gave him a thumb up and they both headed back towards the surface.

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><p>Naruto followed the girl, dragging himself back onto the deck of the ship. Slipping the goggles off his head he threw them aside before shaking his head to dry his hair and covering those that were dry with his wet splashes. The two men on deck grumble about something as the splashes of water hit their faces as the cabin hatch opened and the man from earlier stepped out.<p>

"**Cu ruf't ed ku tufh drana?"**

"**Veha."** The girl replied, pulling her goggles down around her neck and accepting the towel handed to her with a smile. **"Drana fych'd y keyhd uldubic dnoehk du dayn sa ybynd drec desa."**

"**Famm dra udran crebc femm pa rana eh dra sunhehk du ramb fedr dra cymjyka, cu fryd fyc ed oui vuiht tufh drana?"** He asked as he led the group back inside the ship.

"**Yh yencreb."**

"**Yh yencreb? Ruf tet fa syhyka du veht uha uv druca?"** Naruto heard the last guard say as the door started to close behind him.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto yelled, but was too late as the hatch closed, leaving him outside in the cold night, banging his fists against it hoping to get their attention. "I helped too."

* * *

><p>He wanted to yell at the top of his lungs to get someone on the insides attention, to let them know he was cold. And very hungry. But that hadn't worked the last dozen times he'd tried, so he resided himself to sitting at the back of the ship in the shadow of its crane, using the tarpaulin that covered it to keep him dry from a passing shower. His stomach growled in protest due to the lack of food. The last time he'd eaten anything was before his blitzball match when Konaha had been attacked, and he had no idea just how long ago that had been with the number of times he'd passed out.<p>

'When I get home I'm getting ramen.' He thought to himself with a small smile on his face. 'I'll have two; no three large bowls of miso, Pork? Hell I'll have both.' He was so lost in his thoughts that he never knew he was being watched till he heard the sound of metal clang against the ground in front of him. Snapping out of his daze he looked to the source of the sound and found a try piled high with meat, rice and bread sat in front of him. He then heard a giggle and he looked up with drool running down from his mouth to see the girl looking down at him, failing miserably not to laugh at the silly face he was making.

"For me?" he asked slowly inching closer to the food, waiting for her to give him the ok.

"Unless you're not hungry ?" she asked, but before he could say yes his stomach rumbled for everyone to hear, giving the reply for him as he dived for the grub. Ignoring the utensils that were available he scooped the food up in his hands before putting it in his mouth, and before his first mouthful was finished he stuffed more in. It wasn't the best food he'd had, but at this point any food was better than no food at all.

"Hey wait, slow down." The girl cried out as he ripped the bread in half with his teeth and tried to swallow it without chewing, only to panic when it got stuck in his throat. Gripping his throat, his face turning red, as he chocked and gasped for air the girl rolled her eyes before holding out a canteen for the blonde, who quickly snatched it off her before downing half its contents and clearing his throat.

Taking large breaths he rested against the crane relieved that he could breathe once again before looking back at the girl who just stood in front of him, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the entertainment he'd been providing. Taking one last mouthful and taking his time to chew his food he stood up and moved closer to the girl, looking at her very closely. She was short, thin, with her dark brown hair tied up, and those eyes. Those milky white eyes were so strange, with no pupils he was sure she was blind and yet she'd been swimming in the sea and helped fight against the creature that'd attacked him earlier, so that couldn't be it. If so much hadn't already happened to him he would have thought it was strange, but with the attack on his home and washing up in some unknown land it was very low on the list. Swallowing his mouthful he asked the first question that came to mind.

"Can you understand me? What's your name?"

"Of course I understand you and the names Hanabi." The girl giggled behind her hand before Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up and spun her around. "Put me down." She yelled, hitting him in the back with her small fists while he cheered in relief. Finally starting to feel dizzy he lowered the girl back down onto her feet and watched her stumble and fall over while he regained his balance.

"Why didn't you speak earlier?" he asked, helping her to her feet before resting back against the railings.

Hanabi dusted the dirt off her wetsuit before jumping up to sit on the railing beside him. "Sorry about what happened earlier it's just we thought **oui** were a fiend."

"Erm what's **oui**?" he asked confused by the strange word she'd used.

"Oh sorry, **oui **mean's you. Sometimes I use Hyuga words without realising."

"Hyuga?" Great, he finally got one question answered, but now he had another. With all these questions he'd been asking since he left home he was starting to get a headache.

"Yea, we're Hyuga, can't you tell?" She replied, motioning to the ship and clothes she was wearing, as though they should have given them away, before a thought occurred to her. "Wait, you're not a Hyuga hater are you?" she suddenly asked defensively, jumping off the rail and took as few steps back from the blonde as though ready to run away.

"A Hyuga hater?" He repeated, scratching his head in thought. "I've never even heard of a Hyuga before just now."

"Never heard of us before?" she asked dubiously. "Who are you? Where are you from if you've never heard of us Hyuga?"

"I'm Naruto." He puffed his chest out with pride. "Star player of the Konaha Spirals." But rather then get the reaction he was used to when people realised who he was, Hanabi just looked confused as though he was a talking toad.

"Did you hit your head or something?" She asked.

"Um, you guys hit me." He replied as he rubbed the spot they'd hit him on his head.

"You're from Konaha?" Hanabi asked as Naruto nodded his head. "Konaha was destroyed over a thousand years ago."

"What? No. It can't be." He shouted with a look of shock and confusion. "That's my home, I was only there yesterday."

"Ok calm down." She pleaded, seeing the anger in his eyes and waited for him to calm down. "Why don't you tell me what you remember?"

So with them both looking out to sea, Naruto told the young girl everything there was to tell about Konaha, about life there, blitzball, and the Jubi of Sin's attack...and about how he and Kakashi were engulfed in this light before finding himself washed up in this strange land. He found himself just saying things as they came to mind. And all the while Hanabi just stood there listening carefully to what he was saying.

"If Konaha was destroyed all those years ago, how'd I end up here?" he wondered out loud, the idea that his home had been destroyed so long ago just didn't seem right to him.

"You say you were attacked by the Jubi?" The blonde nodded back. "Well that's it then. You're probably just under the effect of its toxin."

"What do you mean?"

"The Jubi gives off this toxin that affects those who get too close to it but are lucky enough to survive." The Hyuga explained. "It causes memory loss, making people forget who they are and those closest to them. Luckily it's only temporary so you should remember everything properly in a few days. Maybe you just had some sort of dream"

"Ok." He said unconvincingly as he nodded his head, he wasn't going to argue with her, but he wasn't suffering from memory loss, or remembering a dream, he knew who he was. He was a blitzball player from Konaha. Wasn't he? "So you're saying I'm sick cause of this toxin? You sure?"

"Yea, like I said Konoha was destroyed by the Jubi over a thousand years ago, so how could anyone play blitzball there anymore."

"It can't be." He muttered to himself and shook his head in defiance. "I saw that thing attack Konaha."

"So you're a blitzball player right?" the white eyed girl continued. "You should go to Tanzaku. They're holding a big blitzball tournament there. I'm sure someone there will recognise you there and they can take you home."

"Yea, I guess." He replied unenthusiastically, but Hanabi never noticed as she started bouncing around him.

"Well it's settled then we'll get you there so don't worry." she said as she started to make her way towards the bridge of the ship before stopping and turning back around. "Or you can stay here with us if you want?" she said with a large smile on her face.

"No, no, no, I'm good." He panicked. He was worried that if he spent too much time on the ship with the Hyuga he'd become their personal punching bag.

"Ok then." She replied a little upset, after years of trying she'd finally made non Hyuga friend but now he wanted to leave. "Oh, and one last thing. Don't tell people you're from Konaha. It's something of a religious place to most people, so even if it is only the toxin talking, some people won't take it too kindly."

Naruto had to stop himself laughing as she spoke. He must have been in a different world, the idea of his Konaha being a religious place was just a big joke to him.

"So its decided then, I'll tell the guys to head to Tanzaku ." she said as she started making her way back inside the ship, before she suddenly stopped as she remembered something and ran back across the deck to him. "By the way this is for thinking I was a guy." She then kicked him in the shin.

Wincing in pain he clutched his leg with both hands and hopped around the deck, while shouting several words Hanabi had never heard before, but was sure her father would never want her to repeat when his foot got caught in a rope and he fell to the floor.

But rather than the thump people would have expected from someone falling over, the ship violently rocked, knocking Hanabi off her feet and sent her tumbling with Naruto across the deck before crashing against the crane.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked as he got back to his feet and pulled Hanabi back up.

The ships hatch opened and the crew came rushing out to find out what had happened, but as soon as they stepped out the door they fell over each other as the ship shook again as though it'd been hit by something and with a crash of water something black rose out of the water.

"Sin!"

"Jubi!"

The men screamed in panic as the Jubi started to rise out of the water while it slowly circled the ship. Naruto looked around in awe as everyone around him ran about in panic. In the very short time he'd spent with Hanabi the one thing he knew for certain was that the Jubi of Sin was a bringer of death, something he could truly believe after seeing it destroy his home. Suddenly one of the Jubi's tales shot out of the water and struck the side of the ship, making it roll onto its side, close to capsizing. Hanabi fell across the deck and caught herself on the railing, stopping herself from entering the water as a maelstrom started to form below them. Naruto meanwhile had grabbed a hold of a loose cable from the crane and hung on for dear life, praying for the ship to right it's self before he fell. But as the ship shook again, groaning in pain as it was knocked about by the great monster, the cable became loose and clutching the end he fell several feet before it stopped suddenly, causing him to continue falling. Closing his eyes he waited for the moment that he would hit the cold water, but it never happened instead feeling something gripping his hand. Opening his eyes he saw Hanabi, clinging onto him and desperately trying to drag him back onboard. Slowly she pulled him back till he was able to grab onto the railing himself, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. It was short lived though as several crates came loose from their bindings and tumbled across the deck, and while Hanabi was able to dodge them Naruto was not so lucky, being hit in the head and lost his grip.

As he fell, time seemed to slow as he saw Hanabi reaching out for him in a futile attempt to catch him, her white eyes wide in fear before he hit the water and was swallowed up by the watery vortex.


	5. Welcome To Takigakure

Naruto awoke face down in the water. Panicking he splashed about as he lifted his head out of the water, choking and spluttering, trying to catch his breath. When he finally calmed his breathing down he wiped the water from his eyes, and while treading water started looking for Hanabi and her ship he'd fallen from. But instead of the black night sky and dark water from the night before, he found himself swimming in clear blue water with a calm, clear sky with a bright sun above him. Figuring that he must have been knocked out for a few hours he started to turn in the water to find the ship, hoping that he hadn't drifted too far away for the Hyuga to find them. But as he searched for the ship he couldn't see it anywhere. In fact he couldn't see anything close by at all, except a speck of land off towards the horizon. Realising that staying afloat in the water until a ship came by to pick him up wasn't the best idea, Naruto started swimming towards the land. As he swam he thought about what he'd learnt from Hanabi the night before. Konaha, his home destroyed over a thousand years ago? She couldn't be right about that could she? Maybe she'd been lying to him, or maybe she had konoha confused with some other place. He hoped she was alright and that after the attack from the Jubi he'd fine her on the ship moored up at the island he was swimming towards.

* * *

><p>The warmth of the water had slowly been replaced by a cold chill, as Naruto pushed on swimming towards land. He'd lost track of the time he'd spent swimming, and by this point he no longer cared instead choosing to focus on the island before him rather than the cold, his body cramps and the continuous growls from his hungry stomach. With each stroke his arms screamed in pain as he pushed his body further past its limit. All the years he'd spent training in blitzball had given him great endurance, but that was for a half hour game, with a break. With everything he'd been doing for the past few days he now felt he was taking part in a survival exercise. Finally as he got closer a yellow sandy beach came into view and sighing a breath of relief he pushed on, the thought of being dry and a long rest encouraging him on. He was forced to stop sooner than he expected though when he was suddenly hit in the head by an unseen object. He flailed about in the water as he righted himself before trying to find the source of the sneak attack. Were there monsters in the sea like in the ruins, he worried as he prepared himself for another possible attack.<p>

"Hey."

He looked up; the call had come from the beach he was heading towards. Squinting his eyes he was able to make out a small group of people standing on the beach.

"Hey." Someone called out again, waving his arms trying to get his attention. "Are you ok, can you get us the ball?"

The ball? Naruto thought as he looked around and there floating just beside him was a familiar blue blitzball.

"Blitzball? Yes!" he cried out. Since the attack of the Jubi of Sin he'd found himself stranded in this strange foreign world, were everything was strange to him. The sudden appearance of the blitzball, an item he recognised filled him with a sense of hope as he reached out and grabbed it.

"Hey." He called back, waving his free arm letting them know he'd seen them, before then threw the ball up above his head and then dived underneath the water. Then as the ball started to descend, Naruto shot out of the water as if fired from a cannon facing away from it. As the two approached each other Naruto started to rotate his body till he was upside down and swung his leg, making contact with the ball, sending it back towards the beach as he diving back into the sea. The ball flew in the air only a few inches above the water, leaving behind a wake that cut through the gentle waves before coming onto the land, pass the spectators that had gathered and into the trees behind then.

After taking the shot, Naruto swam towards the beach, till he could finally stand on his feet. With his legs groaning in pain from the long swim he started to walk, making his way up the beach as a group of five men approached him. When they met there was an odd silence as the group looked him over in wonder, trying to understand the wet orange and black clothed young man in front of them.

"Erm, hi?" the blonde sheepishly said as he ran his hand through his wet hair causing a small spray of water as he spiked it up. But as soon as he spoke be was met by a barrage of questions.

"That was awesome."

"What team do you play for?"

"That was a fluke, there's no way you meant to do that."

He looked on in disbelief as they asked their questions, getting louder and louder as they tried to talk over each other till eventually he couldn't understand a word they were saying. So while they continued to shout over each other, he chose to ignore them instead and look at his surroundings.

The group talking to him all had tans from spending so much time in the sun playing blitzball. They all wore matching green tank tops and shorts decorated with orange designs which were strange he thought. Maybe they were a team practicing rather than just having a kick about, with the clothes they were wearing he hope it was a uniform because if it wasn't he really didn't like what the place considered fashion.

"Hey quieten down." A loud voice suddenly called out that instantly silenced the group that had become a deafening rabble as well as nearly giving Naruto a heart attack. Meanwhile the silenced group parted, letting the sixth man he hadn't even realised was there pass through them and stop in front of him only a few feet away.

"Can you do that again?" He asked, his voice still loud as he held out a ball to Naruto who was looking him over.

He looked about the same age as himself and was dressed in the same colours as the others on the beach, but rather than tank top and shorts he seemed to be wearing what he could only describe as a short sleeved jumpsuit with the legs cut off. Also unlike the others he wore a red sash around his waist that blew in the gentle sea breeze, his arms were wrapped in white bandages from his hands to his elbows and despite the heat from the hot sun it appeared as though he was wearing orange leg warmers. But that wasn't the strangest thing he'd noticed about the guy. Rather than have his hair short or long and free flowing like the others on the beach, his dark black hair was styled as though someone had placed a bowl on top of his head and then cut round it. And then there were his eyebrows. They were so thick and bushy. He wondered if he'd ever considered plucking them to thin them out when the guy raised one, making it look like a hairy caterpillar was crawling across his face. It was then he realised that he'd been so caught up looking at him that he hadn't replied to his question and he was still waiting for an answer.

Nodding his head he caught the ball as it was thrown to him, as everyone moved away to give him more space. Facing everyone he spun the ball on his finger as he closed his eyes and took some calming breaths. This is what he needed, a bit of blitzball to help relieve the built up stress. As his eyes snapped open he threw the ball over his head and away from him. The green clad group watched on, thinking that maybe he'd slipped, and one was about to go retrieve the ball when two Naruto's suddenly appeared in puffs of smoke, surprising them. The two clones caught the ball and started kicking it about, passing it back and forth between each other, faster and faster before being kicked straight back towards the original. As though he had eyes in the back of his head, seeing the ball approach be jumped, kicking the ball as he did a back flip and nimbly landed back on his feet. The force of the kick sent the ball rocketing back across the beach, kicking up the sand as it went before finally heading out to sea, towards the horizon.

"So, what do you think?" one of the clones asked as they flanked the original before they disappeared the same way they appeared as the crowd looked on in shock and awe at what they'd just seen. Finally the youth with the bowl haircut spoke.

"Your fires of youth must be burning like an inferno to be able to do that, you're certainly no amateur." He shouted, as he bounced about in excitement. "I'm Rock lee, team captain of the Takigakure aurouchs. What about you? Are you freelance? Or do you have a team?"

Ignoring his confusing talk about youth Naruto replied. "No I play for the Konoha Spirals." He said with pride, puffing his chest out as everyone suddenly went silent. Not expecting that kind of reaction he looked at the once boisterous group around him which once looked at him in awe now looked at him in confusion, disbelief and one even in anger.

"Who did you say you played for?" he was asked again, be he didn't understand their confusion. Everyone knew who the Konoha Whirlwinds were.

"_Konaha was destroyed over a thousand years ago."_

Hanabi's words rang in his head. No one would believe he'd come from some religious place destroyed a thousand years ago. What was it Hanabi said.

"I... erm... was on a ship and was err, attacked by the jubi?" He said sounding more like a question than an answer, but he never noticed, more concerned with the possible beat down Hanabi said could happen for mentioning Konoha. "I got too close and uh... my heads all foggy. So I don't know where I am or where I even came from."

"You were attacked by the Jubi?" Rock Lee asked as his fuzzy eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

"Erm... Yea." He replied as he took a step back, readying himself to run and swim out to sea if they got violent.

"And yet you're still alive?" Lee continued. Suddenly he stood straight, his right hand held in front of his face with two fingers pointing towards the sky as he bowed his head. "Praise be to Jashin." The remainder of the Aurouchs immediately copied their coach's actions.

Relieved that they weren't going to attack him Naruto relaxed, dropping down to sit in the sand.

"You look exhausted." Lee commented as he sent the team back to train. "How long had you been swimming out there?"

Naruto scratched his head in thought before replying. "I've no idea. I just woke up surrounded by water and swam for the first bit of land I saw."

"Well Jashin must have been smiling down on you for..." but before lee could finish he was interrupted by the loud rumbling of Naruto's stomach. The blonde smiled uncomfortably as Lee burst out laughing.

"Your hungry aren't you?" Naruto just nodded as Lee grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet. "Follow me. I'll take you back to the village and we'll get you something to eat."

Silently Naruto followed Lee off the beach and towards the forest his stomach still calling out for food. Looking back over his shoulder he watched the Aurochs continue to train, passing balls back and forth while one tried to copy his shot, only to miss the ball and land on the back of his head instead. He chuckled to himself, it'd taken months for him to perfect that shot, so he wouldn't be mastering it any time soon. He'd spent hours upon hours, every day at the training ground working on his passes and shots hoping one day to be the greatest blitzball player of all time. He'd spent so much time there training his team mates often said he should make the place his home.

Home.

"Hey Lee!" He called out causing the young man ahead of him to stop. "Konoha was destroyed, wasn't it? A thousand years ago?" He'd only just met him but something inside him told him he could trust the guy so he had to ask. "The place is just rubble now, isn't it?

"Yes." Lee replied, speaking a lot quieter than he had earlier as he rested against a tree. "All those years ago, the world was filled with these big city's ran by machine, machines. They'd do all the work while people would just play around and enjoy themselves. And then, well, just look around you."

The blonde looked around himself and for the first time noticed the old decaying building just down the path they were walking.

"The Jubi came and destroyed all the machina cities, Konoha too. That was about a thousand years ago, just like you said. The Jubi's our punishment for letting things get out of hand, for not trying to achieve anything through hard work. It's just so frustrating that we're the ones suffering because of what everyone did back then." Lee explained as he looked at one of the stone columns, and ran his hand along it. "Of course the important thing is that we work hard and repent for our sins, and eventually we'll be forgiven!"

It was just as Hanabi said. Lee and Hanabi couldn't both be lying. Why would they.

"But you playing for the Konoha Spirals, that's hilarious." Lee laughed as he put his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "I'm not saying that they didn't ever exist, but I bet a team that lived in all that luxury wouldn't have been that tough."

Naruto chuckled, he knew that Lee was trying to cheer him up, but it wasn't working. When he'd woken up after the attack he thought that the Jubi had just carried him off to some foreign land, that he could get back home in a few days, instead it'd taken him into the future. This all started with the Jubi. Maybe if he could find it one more time it'd take him back home. Until then he'd just have to try and make the best of the situation.

* * *

><p>The scenery was breathtaking. From the beach they'd headed inland through the forest, keeping them cool under the shade of the canopy as the tropical birds flew overhead. Once they reached the other side they followed the path up along the cliff side, while several small waterfalls fell all around them. From here you could see most of the island, the lush green forest, the white sandy beaches and the clear water of the lake that the waterfalls plunged into.<p>

Naruto however saw very little of this.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked with a quizzical look as he watched Lee, he'd been walking on his hands since they'd entered the forest.

"Its training." He replied as he looked back at the blonde. "Every day I exercise my legs walking down to the beach, so I walk back to the village this way to give my arms the same workout."

He wanted to laugh. The idea seemed so stupid, he looked stupid and yet he'd been walking like that for nearly an hour now and he showed no sign of tiring. As he considered joining in, Lee pushed off the ground and jumped back to his feet.

"Naruto, did you know that a big tournament's being held in Tanzaku?"

"Yea, I've heard about it." He replied, remembering Hanabi mentioning it to him on the ship before they were attacked.

"You want to play on our team?" Lee asked. "Every team in Spira competes in it before the start of the season. With all those teams and fans someone will recognise you, then you can go back to you old team."

Naruto stopped, and looked out across the island, resting against a small wooden fence that stopped him from falling off the path as he thought about the question. "Sure, why not."

"Yes!" Lee cried out in joy as he jumped up and down in joy. "With you on our team our fires of youth will burn brighter than ever!"

As Naruto watched Lee dance around he came to the conclusion that the Jubi of Sin and blitzball were the only things that Spira and Konoha had in common.

He wasn't far off either.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Tanzaku village." Lee announced proudly as they reached the top of the cliff that overlooked the small village before them.<p>

"So that's your home?" Naruto asked as he looked around, the village was surrounded by a high wooden fence while a small stone shrine stood off the side of the road.

"Yes. I came here ten years ago with my sensei. He trained me and was the coach for the aurochs until he left me in charge two years ago. Ten years on the team, and we've never won a single game."

Naruto quickly looked at him surprised. "You've never won a match?"

"Never." Lee replied the energy he'd previously been speaking with no longer present. "Last year was my big chance, but then I got some news that distracted me and I couldn't concentrate, so our losing streak continued.

Naruto walked beside the black haired teen, putting his arm around his should, trying to comfort him. "That's tough, I've lost matches but to never have a win must have been tough.

"So after last season I quit, so I could focus on my new job. but every time I try to I keep hearing guy sensei's voice telling me that I can succeed if I try hard enough. So I just can't let go until I do." He explained and Naruto was sure Lee was about to cry.

"So you want to win the tournament then? Go out with a bang?"

Lee wiped the sweat and tears from his face with one of his bandages. "I don't care about winning. As long as we do our best, and prove to everyone that you can succeed through hard work, we can walk away happy."

"You kidding me? How can you prove that you've succeeded if you don't win?" The blonde asked confused. "When I say "what's our goal," I don't want you saying "do our best." I want you to say victory!"

"Victory, huh? You think we could really do it?"

"Of course. How else can you prove you've succeeded?"

"Yosh!" Lee cried out jumping up and down, with a fire in his eyes Naruto had never seen before which brought a smile to his face.

"Well if it isn't the one from the sea."

Looking behind themselves Naruto and Lee were approached by a pair of men who'd come up the same path they had. Both were dressed similarly in black trousers and thick green combat vests, they even had the same jet black hair tied up in spiky ponytails. The difference between them though was the younger, shorter one wore a short sleeved gray jacket with blue markings on top of his vest, while the tall one wore an animal skin coat over his vest and had two scars on the right side of his face.

"Keep an eye open, fiends have been reported in the area"

No, Naruto screamed in his mind. The friend he'd fought with Hanabi had been a struggle so the last thing he wanted was to do it all over again.

"After surviving the Jubi it'd be a drag if something happened to you now." The shorter one said before they continued on their way into the village.

"Who were they?" Naruto asked as he watched the two enter the village, as they made their own way towards it.

"That was Shikaku and Shikamaru from ANBU."

"AN what."

"What, did you forget that too?"

Naruto just held his head down.

"Hey don't worry about it, when we get to the village you can go to the lodge and they can answer your questions. They have a lodge there."

"Thanks, and don't worry. By the time we leave Tanzuku, we'll be taking the cup with us." He said with a smile.

"Great!" Lee cheered, as he finally came to a stop at the end of the road. "Well here we are my friend, Takigakure village."


	6. Filling In The Blanks

"So this is the village then?" Naruto asked to no one in particular as he took a few steps through the gateway. The village wasn't very big with only a couple small huts made of wood and canvas running along the outer wall. While at the far end stood a single stone building, a temple that towered above the village and looked out over the island.

"Hey. Naruto, over here."

The blonde turned towards the voice and came face to face with Lee. Before he could ask him what he wanted though, Lee grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him back outside of the village and behind its large log fence.

"I forgot to ask you." He said letting Naruto go. "Do you remember the prayer?"

The prayer? What kind of prayer was he expected to remember? He'd never been religious, never believed in a god so he didn't know any. He was about to tell Lee that when suddenly a thought occurred to him. There was one prayer that he did know.

"Yea I think so." He replied before clapping his hands together and bowing his head. "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu?" Lee asked looking perplexed.

"It's what you say before you eat." Naruto explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. And that's when he realised he wasn't in his world anymore. "You, have to imagine me holding chopsticks." He continued on, feeling more and more stupid with every word that left his mouth.

"That's not what I meant." Lee said as he covered his face with his hand and shook his head in disbelief. "The toxin really has affected you hasn't it. Now watch me, this is the prayer." Suddenly he stood straight, his head bowed and his right hand held up vertically with two fingers pointing upwards. He held the pose of a few seconds as Naruto looked him over before relaxing and letting his hand fall to his side. "Now you have a try."

The blonde stood there looking off into space, sure that he recognised the prayer, sure that he'd done it in the past, before he finally looked at his right hand and slowly moved his fingers into the right position. Once he was happy he brought his hand up to his face and bowed his head.

"Not bad." Lee commented as he circled the blonde to inspect him, before stopping to straighten his posture. "But I'd practice it a few more times if I were you. Kids are taught this as soon as they can walk, if someone sees you taking so long to do it they'll think something's wrong with you." He laughed.

Naruto just looked at him. He'd seen his home attacked by a giant creature and then been transported to another place and time, so there were plenty of things wrong as far as he was concerned, but it wasn't him.

"Right!" Lee yelled as he rested his arm across his shoulders and led him back through the gates into the centre of the village were people were going about their business. "Head for the ANBU lodge and get something to eat, just tell them I sent you and you'll be alright. When you're done there head for the temple, I'm sure you'll feel better there." He explained as he pointed first to the large tent to the left of them, and then to the lone stone building. "Right I've got jobs I need to do so I'll see you later." And before he could answer Lee was off running again, out of the village gate and back towards the beach.

Shaking his head in disbelief Naruto made his way to the tent Lee had pointed out to him as the people around him cautiously watched the new arrival to their village. Reaching the lodge he pushed the curtain that covered the doorway aside and stepped inside. Once inside he found himself stood in a large room filled with tables and benches, some clean while others were covered with dirty bowls and glasses. Small lanterns hung from the ceiling bathing the room in a warm glow while making the animal masks that hung on the walls look dark and scary. Across the back wall next to the only other doorway in the lodge stood a bar, attended by a woman with long brown hair who was stocking shelves, while two men sat on the opposite side from her silently drinking.

Realising that no one had noticed him yet he slowly approached the bar. "Hi, erm... Lee sent me." He said hoping to get the barmaids attention, however she wasn't the one that responded to him.

"Ah, the one from the sea." Looking towards the voice Naruto found that he'd gotten the attention of the two drinkers instead and recognised them as the people he'd met earlier on the road to the village.

"I'm Naruto."

"Shikaku." The scarred man said then motioned to the person next to him. "And this is Shikamaru, my son. So how..." His question however was interrupted as the barmaid cleared her throat, gaining everyone's attention.

Shikaku let out a long sigh. "And this is my wife, Yoshino."

The woman turned around, facing the three men. "Good afternoon." She said, greeting the blonde with a smile before spinning on her heels and continued her work stacking shelves.

"Hi." He replied giving her a small feeble wave, when she'd spoken to him she seemed so nice and calm, yet the two beside him had reacted as though she was someone to be feared. Why?

After a few moments of the sound of glass bottles clinking against each other being the only noise in the room Shikaku finally spoke. "So... how'd you wind up on our shores, you fall overboard and nobody saw you?"

"Sort of, I was washed overboard when we were attacked by the Jubi." He explained, heeding Hanabi and Lee's advice about mentioning Konoha. They'd thought he was crazy, but at least they understood. There was no guarantee that anyone else would be.

"You were attacked by sin nearby?" Shikamaru asked, speaking for the first time as he started to fiddle with his fingers, his eyes closed as if in deep thought. "But it hasn't attacked yet? I wonder why? This is troublesome." He mumbled, but before he had time to think about his own question a towel was thrown in his face, catching him by surprise and sent him falling backwards off his stool. As he used the bar to help pull himself back up he came face to face with his mother, glaring at him from the other side.

"I don't care if it's troublesome, we have a guest and he's injured." She shouted, bringing everyone's attention, including Naruto's to the bloodstained bandage on his arm. It'd stopped hurting him a long time ago, in fact it'd started to go numb but that was normal, or should he be worried he thought, as he slowly started to panic. Meanwhile Shikamaru ran to the back and returned a few moments later with a first aid kit in hand, promptly handing it over to Yoshino who started work cleaning and disinfecting his wound.

"So the Jubi could still be around, we're going to have to step up patrols on the island. That's all the ANBU need." Shikaku mumbled as he filled his glass up from the bottle besides him. He drunk the contents in one go before quickly filling his glass again.

"What's ANBU?"

"You don't know about the ANBU?" Yoshino asked as she grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the bar before her husband could fill his glass once more and splashed some on Naruto's arm as she started to disinfect the wound before she started to stitch it up.

He ground his teeth together till the stinging sensation of the alcohol subsided. "No I don't remember much before the attack. Someone said it was because of some sort of toxin?"

"Yea the toxin has a habit of making people forget those closest to them." The scarred man replied as he looked into his still empty glass. "Thankfully it's only temporary. Still till it's worn off, Shikamaru, tell him about the ANBU."

"The ANBU are sworn to protect the people of Spira. We patrol routes and villages, protecting people from fiends and others who wish to do them harm, and provide assistance evacuating people when the Jubi attacks and help them to recover from the damage afterwards." Shikamaru explained in a bored tone as he sat back on his stool and laid his head on the bar top and closed his eyes, as if he was going to fall asleep.

"So what, you don't fight the Jubi?"

"No." Shikaku said, shaking his head as he reached out to grab a hold of the bottle of sake, only for Yoshino to move it further out of his reach. "All we can do is help with damage control. Fighting the Jubi is the responsibility of a summoner."

"A what?"

"You have to be kidding me, you don't know what a summoner is? Is that normal?" Shikamaru asked his father.

"It's not unusual to forget but this does seem like a rather severe case." He replied before turning to the blonde and giving him a pat on the back. "I could explain it to you, but I think it's a question best answered at the temple."

"But first you'll eat" Yoshino said before ordering her family to quit being lazy and start cooking for their guest.

* * *

><p>Staring up at the great doors before him, Naruto debated whether or not to enter the temple. He'd spent the last few hours sat in the ANBU lodge eating while Yoshino told him various stories about the island, stopping only to refill his bowl or to order her husband and son to do more work. He'd remained silent for most of the time, only asking her to go into more detail when she talked about the blitzball team, figuring that the more he knew about the team the better he could help them and Lee win the tournament. Yoshino was eager to help and went into great detail of just how bad they played, with the only time she could remember them ever winning a match was when she was younger. When he'd asked her to explain to him about Jashin and summoners though she just shook her head and told him that he'd find those answers at the temple.<p>

So there he was, standing outside the temple under the large stone canopy as the sun slowly began to set. Finally ready to go in, he reached for the door when it suddenly opened and two small children came running out. Caught by surprise, Naruto stumbled backwards, before tripping and falling to the ground as the children ran past him, weaving in and out of the stone support columns before disappearing into one of the village's small tents. A few seconds later a woman came running out the temple, asking where the children had gone. Still in shock after believing that there wouldn't have been any more surprises for him while he was in the village, just pointed in the direction they'd ran off in. The woman thanked him for his help and apologised for whatever her children may have done before running of after them, leaving him to wonder what had just happened, before he finally started to laugh. With all the surprises that had happened in the last few days, this one he didn't mind. Seeing the two children playing reminded him that despite all of the horrible things he'd seen, there was still some good in the world, so with a smile on his face he got back to his feet and walked through the temple entrance.

Inside he found himself inside a large circular room filled with people and the soothing sound of singing. As he slowly walked to the centre of the room he looked around he found that while a few people were watching him, everyone else was facing the outer walls, laying flowers and lighting candles next to the small statues that decorated the walls, before kneeling down sand praying. Assuming that they were praying to friends and family that had passed away, he tried looking away to give them some privacy, but no matter where he looked he only found more of the same. People praying, people crying, but no one singing he realised. He'd expected to see a choir performing on a stage, singing the calming song that filled the temple, but there was nothing. He started staring at the walls, trying to see if there was any speaker's playing the music that he was staring to get the feeling that he'd heard before when he suddenly bumped into something. Looking before him he found he'd walked into a large stone statue that stood just off to the right of the room alongside a second. The y stood beside a large stone stairway at the head of the room while a second pair of statues stood in the same place to the left of them, giving the room a sense of symmetry. As he looked over the statue of a man dressed in regal robes that looked over the room with a stern expression on his face he noticed that it looked a lot newer than the other three statues, depicting more people also dressed in elaborate robes.

"It's taken ten years but we were finally able to get ourselves a statue of high summoner Hiashi." A bald man dressed in colourful robes said with a smile to Naruto as he stood next to him to inspect the statue.

"What's a high summoner?"

Hearing people gasp Naruto looked around to see that everyone in the temple seemed to have heard what he'd said, and were now all staring at him in shock and disbelief. The scene was eerily similar to that when he told the blitzball team he came from Konoha after he washed up on the island.

"I... I got too close to the Jubi, so the toxin... Erm, I don't remember much." He said quickly, hoping that they'd accept his story. It was funny he thought, using the same excuse again and again. Funny, and a little sad.

Thankfully the surrounding crowd seemed to buy the story as they all bowed, praying for his well being before continuing what they had previously been doing, leaving him alone with the man that had first spoke to him.

"The summoners are practioners of a sacred art, sworn to protect the people of Jashin." The man explained as he pointed to the four statues. "Only a chosen few are able to call upon entities of great power. The Aeons. They hear our prayers and come to protect us in our times of need. They are a blessing from Jashin."

As the man talked, Naruto just nodded his head. Simply coming to the conclusion that the summoners were just great and powerful men that should be respected.

* * *

><p>Naruto tossed and turned as he tried to find a comfortable position and get some sleep. The mattress was hard, the blankets itchy and the village lacked the sounds of the Konoha nightlife, remaining calm and silent rather than the loud music and flashing lights that he was accustomed to. But he supposed that he should be grateful though since the last few places he'd slept had been the deck of a ship and in the sea itself. Figuring that he wasn't going to get any sleep though he finally gave up, throwing his pillow across the room and hitting another sleeping man in the face. Panicking Naruto hid, pulling the covers over his head hoping that he hadn't been seen. But when he poked his head out he breathed a sigh of relief as the man remained asleep, only moving so that he could claim the makeshift weapon and rest his head on it. Confident that he was now safe, he sat himself up in his bed and thought about what he'd learnt throughout the day.<p>

The priest went into great detail about how belief in Jashin brought hope to the people of Spira and spoke with great pride, as he told stories of the powerful summoners and their Aeons in the hopes that it would help jog his memory. But it didn't.

Eventually after spending over an hour with the blonde, the priest finally gave up, instead suggesting that he prayed to Jashin, adamant that doing so would help. Feeling like an uninvited guest at a party he'd found himself a quiet spot away from the other temple goers and closed his eyes and tried to digest what he'd been told. After all praying to a god he didn't understand or believe in would just be weird he though. Eventually Lee finally reappeared and led him back to the ANBU tent where a bed had been made for him to stay in, which he was more than happy to accept.

Yawning he finally felt relaxed enough to sleep so he reached over to the empty bed besides his and grabbed the pillow. Smiling to himself he laid back down finding his new pillow a lot comfier when he heard a voice coming from the bar at the other side of the doorway.

"You could at least go and see how they're doing?" the voice said. It sounded like the priest that had talked to him earlier and he sounded worried.

"I can't, you know that." A second voice he recognised as Lee replied. Even late at night with people sleeping in the next room he still spoke loudly and full of energy.

"But it's been over a day now."

"They'll be fine, besides..." but Naruto never heard what else was said as sleep finally claimed him.


	7. The Search For The Summoner

"_You're not giving up are you?" A woman asked, as she spoke to the man stood in the doorway to her house, as the cool breeze from outside blew in making her red hair whip about like an excited dog wagging its tail. "It's only been a day."_

"_No, of course not!" The man replied as he adjusted his mirrored glasses, pushing them back up his nose. "More people are joining the search as we speak." _

"_Maybe I should go and look to." She said, turning round and quickly grabbed her jacket from the back of a chair before making her way to exit the house, only for the man to bar her way._

"_No. You should stay here Kushina. We'll search for him, you stay here and look after your son, and he needs you now more than ever. We'll let you know as soon as we find anything." He said, trying to reassure her before turning around and running off to join the rest of the search parties._

"_Thank you." She called out as she watched the man disappear among the crowds of people that had gathered outside her house. Many had come to help in the search while others had come to share their condolences, as though Minato was gone forever. She wished those people would just leave her alone, she didn't want to think about what her life would be like without him._

"_Have they found him yet mom?"_

_Kushina turned towards the small quiet voice to see her young son dressed in his pyjamas, clutching an orange plush fox in one hand while sleepily rubbing his eyes with the other._

"_I'm sorry, did I wake you Naruto?" She asked, nervously playing with her hair as he sleepily nodded his head."No they haven't found him yet, but don't worry he'll be home soon."She said as she knelt down beside him while forcing a smile on her face, trying not to show her son how worried she really was._

"_Mommy you're crying." The young boy said as he reached up towards his mother, running a finger along her cheek and wiping away a tear that she hadn't realised had fallen from her eye. Finally giving into her emotions she grabbed her son and hugged him close, trying to find some form of comfort for themselves as more and more tears streamed down her face._

* * *

><p>Naruto awoke from his first full night's sleep since the attack on Konoha feeling completely refreshed. Untangling himself from the sheets which were strewn all over the place he was surprised to find that his clothes had been moved. Instead of finding then him the messy pile he'd left them in at the foot of the bed, he instead found them cleaned and folded neatly on the nightstand beside's him with a note resting on top. Grabbing the note he unfolded it and he couldn't help laugh as he read the message. It was from Yoshino. She'd been by while he'd been sleeping and seeing his messy clothes, she'd taken them to be cleaned and repaired. The note also mentioned that if he wanted her to repair anything else for him in the future that she'd charge him next time and that she didn't come cheap.<p>

Throwing the note aside he grabbed his clothes and took a moment to inspect them before he started to get dress. Yoshino had done a great job cleaning them as they looked as good as new, even the old ramen stain on the front of his jacket that had stubbornly refused to go away no matter how many hours he'd spent scrubbing it, was now gone. And all the rips and cuts had been neatly sewn up, a lot better than the patchwork repairs he was use to making, however much she charged she certainly seemed to be worth the price.

Once finally dressed Naruto made his way to the dining area and was happy to see Yoshino who was busying herself by serving food to people while her son slept with his head resting against the bar top.

After serving the last customer she turned to Naruto and greeted him with a smile. "Good morning, I hope you slept well?"

"I did, it was a lot more comfortable then the last few places I've slept." He replied as he thought about the nights he'd spent on the cold, wet, hard floors. "And thanks for cleaning my clothes; you didn't have to do that."

"It was nothing; you've been through a lot it seems after your encounter with the Jubi, so the least I could do was let you face the world in some clean clothes." She said as she grabbed a cloth and I one fluid motion whipped Shikamaru across the back of the head with it causing him to wake up startled. He tiredly looked up at his mother, about to say something only to be met by her stern gaze and with a deep sigh he pulled himself off his stool and started to collect the empty dishes on the tables.

"Do you know where Lee is?" Naruto asked as he watched the scene unfold, trying not to laugh at the young man. His mother quite literally had him whipped. "I need to see him about dong some training if I'm going to play with the Aurouchs."

"Yes Lee said you were joining the team. He seemed rather excited, more than usual; he must think your something special." Yoshino said as she began to wipe the bar down as she saw the blondes eyebrows furrow, no doubt trying to picture the overly excitable man he'd met the day before be even more so. "He'll probably be on the beach with the rest of the team, but I'd check at the temple first, he might still be there checking on things."

"Oh, thanks." He replied a little deflated as he made his way out of the tent. The temple was the last place he wanted to be. He'd felt completely out of place there the day before as the monk tried to explain to him all about Jashin. He was glad the man gave up in the end since the only thing he was getting from him was a headache. Outside he looked towards the village gates and the path leading towards the beach.

'She said he'd probably be on the beach.' He thought to himself as he started to make his way towards the long winding path before stopping at the gates to look back at the temple. Letting out a heavy sigh he turned around and made his way back across the village square till he was once again looking up at the temples stone doors. As much as he didn't want to go inside he didn't fancy the long walk to the beach only to have to come back again if Lee wasn't there.

Steeling himself for more of the strange looks he'd been getting ever since arriving in this strange world he made his way inside, maybe if he was quick he could get in and out before anyone could ask him any questions. Thankfully he didn't have to spend long looking as he found Lee stood in the centre of the room talking to the monk.

"You could at least go in and check?" The monk pleaded, pointing to the doorway at the top of the stairway.

"Is something wrong?"

Lee and the monk quickly turned around to face the blonde, caught by surprise by his sudden appearance.

"We're not sure. The summoner hasn't returned yet." Lee explained as the monk walked away from them, annoyed that he couldn't get him to agree with him. "Well, technically they're an apprentice summoner but their spirit burns so strongly im sure it wont be long now."

"Ok." Naruto replied nodding his head. He didn't understand what he was talking about but he really wasn't in the mood for a lecture about summoners and Jashin again like the day before.

Lee on the other hand could tell straight away that he didn't understand so he quickly started to explain. "Through there is the cloister of trails and beyond that is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the pray's heard then the apprentice becomes a fully fledged summoner, remember?" He said hoping to jog his memory.

"So someone's in there and they haven't got back yet. Is it very dangerous?"

"Yes, it can be sometime, and they've been gone for a whole day, it don't usually take that long that's why people are starting to worry."Lee explained as he looked back across to the monk who just stared back at him.

"Maybe we should go in and check if they're alright?" Naruto suggested, agreeing with what he'd heard the monk say to Lee when he'd first entered the temple.

But Lee shook his head. "There are already guardians in there, and besides it'd be forbidden."

"But they could be in trouble!" He replied heatedly as he ran up the steps and pushed the door open. He never could sit back and do nothing when someone needed help, and it annoyed him even more when those that could help, refused to do so.

"Stop! You can't enter." The monk shouted seeing him walk through the door, his voice attracting the attention of everyone who had been praying, and causing them to gasp in shock and cry out in outrage at seeing someone go against the teachings they held so dear. "The precepts must be obeyed.

"Like I care!" He shouted back just before the door closed behind him.

* * *

><p>"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Naruto muttered to himself as he turned another corner only to find a wall blocking his way. Exhaling a sigh of frustration he turned on his heels and headed back the way he came. When Lee said the place could be dangerous he'd been expecting jets of flames shooting out of the walls, or monsters waiting to jump out at him from behind every corner. Instead he'd found himself inside a stuck in a stone maze with strange glowing symbols flashing on the walls.<p>

'There's no wonder this summoners been gone so long, I bet he's still trying to find his way out of this place.' He thought as he arrived at the last point the path had split up before trying the opposite path. He hated mazes. They reminded him of the time he'd got lost for five hours in a hedge maze back in Konoha and he only found his way out of that after he'd given up and ran through the walls. If that was any indication of how long he was going to be stuck there, someone would have to come to find him. That was if they weren't too afraid to break the rules like he was.

"64, 65, 66, 67..."

"Naruto stopped in his tracks as he heard the counting, the only sound he'd heard that wasn't his own footsteps since he'd entered the cloister of trials, even the strange music that had been playing in the main room in the temple couldn't be heard. Was it a timer? Was the maze meant to be a race or was it a countdown to something dangerous? Not wanting to take any chances he quickly but cautiously continued through the maze, following the sound of the counting to see what it was. What he found caused a sense of relief and confusion wash over him.

The relief was because at the end of the path was a large door, different to the one he'd entered. He'd finally found the exit and he couldn't wait to leave and he had no intention to ever come back to a place like this again.

What confused him though was he found the green clad Lee doing press-ups in front of the door.

"When did you get here?

"99, 100." Lee finished counting before looking up to the blonde with a big smile on his face before springing up to his feet. "Naruto you finally made it, I knew the fires of youth inside you would help guide you here."

"Err, actually it was more like the sound of your counting." He admitted with an embarrassed chuckle. "But seriously I came in her before you, how long have you been waiting there?"

"About ten minutes."

"And you thought you'd do 100 push-ups while you waited?"

"Well I'd already done 200 sit-ups." He replied to Naruto's surprise. Was it even possible to do all that in ten minutes, or was he just bragging because no one could prove otherwise. Before he could think about it though Lee pushed the heavy door open and beckoned for him to follow.

Following his lead he stepped through the doorway and found himself in a small round room with Lee stood in the centre. Letting the door close behind him, he stood besides Lee and took a quick look around the room. There were no other windows or doors except the one they'd come through. Turning to Lee, he was about to ask if maybe there was some hidden door they had to go through when suddenly there was a rumble and the ground shook. A second later the ground shook again before a before it suddenly started to descend while they were both stood on it.

Naruto's first reaction was to panic that the ground beneath him had given way, but realising that rather than falling to his death it was more like riding in a lift like back at home, and the fact Lee hadn't reacted at all to what was happening he quickly regained his composure. He should have been used to surprises by now he thought.

"So... I thought you said only summoners and their guardians were allowed in here." Naruto asked, finally able to think of something to say to break the silence that had fallen between them as he watched the carvings in the stone walls around him pass him by as they descended further underground. "So wont you get into trouble too when we get out of here?"

"No." Lee replied as though he didn't have a care in the world.

"So what makes you so special then?" He asked looking back at Lee, waiting for an answer. "Is it the reason your hairs like that?" He joked.

"No, no, no, no. I have my hair like this in honour of my master." Lee replied seriously, never realising that the blonde had been joking. "I'm allowed here because I'm a guardian too."

Lee was a guardian? He'd though with summoners being so important that their guardians would look more intimidating. Large muscle bound men, wearing heavy armour and carrying big weppons. Not like... Well like Lee.

Eventually the platform came to a stop in a room with only a single door at the far side, so he made his way towards it, with Lee quickly following behind him.

"I can't wait to introduce you to the others, I'm sure you'll all get along youthfully.

"Whys that?"

"Well your fires of youth burn so brightly, how could they not?" Lee said as he reached the door. "One's a beautiful blossoming flower who wouldn't hurt a fly; one is as loyal as a hound and the other..." He began to explain but was interrupted as the moment he stepped through the door a large white dog pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Seeing the attack Naruto quickly reached into his back pouch to retrieve a kunai and was about to tackle the dog when he noticed something strange. Rather than screams of pain and panic at being mauled by a dog the size of a horse, Lee was laughing.

The dog was licking his face.

"Ok, ok Akmaru. It's good to see you too." Lee laughed, giving the dog a hug before trying to push it off so he could get up.

With one final lick, Akamaru crawled off of Lee allowing him to stand and enter the room properly, but when Naruto tried to follow him in he quickly leapt in front of him, bearing his teeth and growled at him causing him to worry about his own safety.

"Lee who is this guy?" A young man with red markings on his face asked, wearing a black trousers and open jacket that showed the light armour plates that were strapped to him underneath, as he walked besides Akamaru, running his hand through the dog's fur as he gave inspected the blonde.

"What are you doing here?" A female voice called out catching the attention of Lee and Naruto.

"We just came to make sure you were alright Sakura, people were starting to get worried." Lee explained waving to the pink haired girl who was resting against the far wall.

"So what? You were worried that we couldn't handle the job?" Sakura asked with a scowl as he pushed herself off the wall and marched across the room to poke her finger in his chest as her long pink dress trailing along behind her.

"Sorry, it's kind of my fault." Naruto tried to explain as she turned her green eyes towards him. While he'd felt intimidated by Akamaru and the other guy, Sakura was making him seriously reconsider his decision to enter the sacred chamber. Was she the beautiful flower that wouldn't hurt a fly, Lee had mentioned? Because the way she was clenching her gloved fists suggested that someone was going to get hurt and he really didn't want to be that someone. "Is the summoner alright?" He asked, hoping to distract her.

"You're not supposed to be here." She said sternly as she reared her fist back before throwing it at his head causing him to dive between the guardians to protect himself. Quickly rolling to his feet he turned back to Sakura ready to defend himself only to see her being restrained by Lee who was struggling to hold her back, while the other guy just watched them amused. "Lee let go of me or your next!" She shouted.

Before he could respond though the room shook and a wall at the top of some steps started to rise up, revealing a doorway and causing everyone so stop what they were doing and look in that direction. Dust kicked up in the air as the wall rose to the ceiling and the silhouette of someone stood in the doorway appeared. Naruto watched for what seemed like an eternity before the dust cloud started to disperse and the figure of a young woman dressed in a purple dress and white top and yellow obi around her waist appeared. Tentatively she started to make her way into the room, wiping the sweat from her brow as her long dark blue hair and kimono sleeves flowing behind her with every step she took, before kicking a stone causing her to stumble and fall.

Seeing her about to fall down the steps, everyone quickly forgot about their fight and instead quickly made their way towards her to aid, but the guardians were left standing in shock as Naruto dove across the room. Leaping up the stairs he quickly dove at the girl, catching her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as they tumbled down the hard stone steps, using his own body to protect her. As he hit the ground at the bottom of the steps hard everyone gathered around him worried about both their well-beings after the fall.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked concerned as he spotted blood seeping from the back of the blondes head.

"I'm fine." He groaned as he shook his head, unconcerned with his own bleeding as he tried to clear away the cobwebs before looking down at the girl he was cradling in his arms, only to find her staring back at him with milky lavender eyes and a flushed face. "Are you hurt?"

At first he was worried she'd been injured during the fall as she continued to stare back at him, her face glowing redder and redder, before eventually a small smile appeared on her face and she spoke in a quiet, timid voice.

"I've done it! I have become a summoner."


End file.
